Stuck in 6 month meter reading dispute between 2 providers

Gerry1

clarestreets said:

And GNE bust? Does that mean there will be no outstanding bill here? Or might they issue a bill but there will be no one to dispute with?

It seems there might be no point me sharing my GNE bills at this stage then I guess?

If there's an outstanding bill to be paid to GNE then the administrators will eventually chase you for it.  Could take quite a while, but they are obliged to get as much as they can for the creditors.

It's probably almost impossible to get a potential overcharge investigated and refunded, especially as the old meter and timeswitch is likely to be in a landfill or recycled.  Similarly, I doubt that the Ombudsman can do much with a company that's no longer trading, and you won't be transferred to the SoLR so there's no hope there.

I could be wrong, but I think you'll just have to forget it.  The good news is that you seem to be on an even keel with Igloo, on a good tariff, so you don't have to worry as long as you send readings and make sure the DD is paying its way.

Of course, it hasn't been confirmed that GNE overcharged you, it may well be all be a storm in a teacup.  As previously suggested, by examining all the old bills you may be able to get an idea if GNE's closing estimate was reasonable, but it's probably only an academic exercise now.

clarestreets

I’m guessing the payment option for an outstanding bill might not be an option so I may need to find a way to dispute any savings possible 

clarestreets

Thanks Gerry. I agree that the most important thing is that I’m on an even keel now. I might give myself a couple of months off from talking to energy providers before I undertake another switch 🤣

I guess I’ll just have to sit back and see what happens with GNE, que sera sera I suppose 🤷🏼‍♀️

niktheguru

the most important message to learn from this saga is to TAKE AND SUBMIT REGULAR METER READS. it’s so critical to ensure you have accurate bills and don’t get overcharged. That way if your meter has a fault you’ll also notice it sooner. It looks like you only ever read your meter at most once in a year. Get into the habit of doing it monthly and doing gas and electric at the same time.

Penelopa.Pitstop

Gerry1 said:

Penelopa.Pitstop said:

If the Low reading on your electric meter didn't move, it's probably because economy 7 heating was disconnected and nothing used low tariff. Looking at your bill, it's estimated usage and your meter showed different, lower number. It's possible your meter wasn't broken at all, you just didn't use Economy 7 electricity at all, but you paid for it anyway, because you didn't take meter readings and company estimated usage and billed you for it.  Now it will impossible to fix it, as meter was changed and nothing can be proven.

 I was in similar situation, when after flat refurbishment, nothing was connected to Economy 7 and I was putting the same meter read every time, but energy company tried to generate estimate usage.

No, Economy 7 doesn't work that way, the whole house is on the low rate overnight, not just the appliances connected to the circuit that's switched by the meter.  Unless the place is unoccupied, there will always be some low rate consumption: lighting, the fridge, the freezer, items on standby etc.  I don't have storage heaters and don't usually use the immersion heater but 22% of my usage is at night.

It certainly worked like this in my flat. Nothing was connected to night rate after we removed storage heaters during renovation and meter read didn't change. And it was electronic meter, not physical old one.

Gerry1

Penelopa.Pitstop said:

Gerry1 said:

Penelopa.Pitstop said:

If the Low reading on your electric meter didn't move, it's probably because economy 7 heating was disconnected and nothing used low tariff. Looking at your bill, it's estimated usage and your meter showed different, lower number. It's possible your meter wasn't broken at all, you just didn't use Economy 7 electricity at all, but you paid for it anyway, because you didn't take meter readings and company estimated usage and billed you for it.  Now it will impossible to fix it, as meter was changed and nothing can be proven.

 I was in similar situation, when after flat refurbishment, nothing was connected to Economy 7 and I was putting the same meter read every time, but energy company tried to generate estimate usage.

No, Economy 7 doesn't work that way, the whole house is on the low rate overnight, not just the appliances connected to the circuit that's switched by the meter.  Unless the place is unoccupied, there will always be some low rate consumption: lighting, the fridge, the freezer, items on standby etc.  I don't have storage heaters and don't usually use the immersion heater but 22% of my usage is at night.

It certainly worked like this in my flat. Nothing was connected to night rate after we removed storage heaters during renovation and meter read didn't change. And it was electronic meter, not physical old one.

Either it wasn't Economy 7 (other multi-rate tariffs are available), or the meter's night rate register or timeswitch were faulty.  Did you push the button to see the other rate?

All E7 usage is on the low rate during the off-peak period.

Penelopa.Pitstop

I could see both rates on a meter. There was attempt to replace it to new meter with one tarrif, but guy who came to do it, said there's asbestos cable and he won't touch it. 

I don't live there any more, so someone else got that baby in their hands.